is backing down from a battle with four of his former top deputies-turned-whistleblowers who went public with accusations of

Late last week, Paxton’s office announced it had reached a settlement for $3.3 million with the ex-senior AG officials who claimed Paxton had illegally retaliated against them for their actions. While Paxton maintains the group’s bribery allegations are false, the attorney general agreed to apologize for calling them “rogue employees.”

The settlement—which would be footed by taxpayers—isn’t final until legislators sign off, but if approved it would mark yet another act pulled off by the most talented political escape artist in Texas as he navigates the long-term fallout of the most serious and sordid scandal in his ethically fraught career. After surviving a primary challenge that centered on his corruption and easily securing a third term in November, the sole remaining legal threat from this particular episode is the FBI probe that has been ongoing for over two years, with no charges yet filed.

This corruption saga was first uncovered in the fall of 2020, when several of Paxton’s top deputies alerted law enforcement—including the FBI—of what they believed to be a corrupt relationship between their boss and Nate Paul, an Austin real estate mogul and campaign donor.

Their actions helped expose the depths of that scandal and the myriad ways that Paxton used the power of his office to aid and protect the developer’s crumbling empire known as World...

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